Stargazer
by Emaelin
Summary: Orion, the Big and Little Dippers, and Cassiopeia were all visible in the clear night sky. Witnessing Mother Nature's beauty in this way took her breath away. Companion fic to Some Sunny Day, but can stand on its own.


A/N: I'm back! My muse decided to make this a happy one-shot this time, so you can enjoy this fic without crying. This fic was slightly influenced by Tempo's CA fic, "Wishful Thinking". I'm always glad to give credit where it's due, and your writing inspired me to write my own Annie/Auggie star fic. I was also strongly motivated and encouraged by the song "Fall For You", by Secondhand Seranade. Actually, I listened to it on repeat the whole time I was typing this out on my laptop. xD Anyways, hope you like this, and sorry for this beast of an Author's Note. =]

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NEITHER OF THESE WONDERFUL CHARACTERS, I'M ONLY BORROWING THEM FOR A SHORT WHILE. (Although, like most of us, I could use my own Auggie... Still haven't found one, but my friend Adam makes a pretty good replacement for the time being. ;])

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Stargazer

Annie woke from a dead sleep to trembling hands and beaded sweat on her forehead for the fourth time in a week. After four times of reliving that horrible nightmare, she thought she would at least be prepared for the repercussions when she woke. She was wrong. She was unprepared and her fear was out of control.

"_Ok, Annie. Get a hold of yourself. Ben is gone. You'll never see him again. He didn't just leave you in the middle of the night with a cryptic note. You don't have to worry about him doing that ever again."_

Unsurprisingly, the pep talk didn't help very much. Annie had found from previous experiences that the only way to calm herself after the nightmare was to go out onto the deck, lay down, and stargaze. And so, at 12:23AM, Annie got up slowly out of bed, went downstairs to get a glass of water, opened the sliding door out onto the deck, and stepped out into the night air. For a moment, the chill in the air sent shivers down her spine, but her body soon adjusted to the icy temperature. After finding a suitable spot out on the deck, Annie lay down and stared up at the Milky Way. Orion, the Big and Little Dippers, and Cassiopeia were all visible in the clear night sky. Witnessing Mother Nature's beauty in this way took her breath away as she settled back on the deck and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to drift off, she heard the sliding door open and she blinked her eyes open, trying to rub the sleep out of them so she could see clearly.

"Annie, honey? Is that you out here?"

"Yeah, Auggie, it's me. I couldn't sleep," Annie replied.

Being careful not to trip over anything, he slowly made his way across the deck towards the sound of her voice. As he traversed the deck, Annie sat up and crossed her legs Indian style, all the while staring at the amazing canvas stretched above her in the darkness. Auggie finally reached Annie's stargazing spot, sat down next to her, and took her hand, twining their fingers together.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Looking at the stars. They're very beautiful tonight, or rather this morning," Annie replied, still gazing towards the heavens.

"Will you describe them for me?"

"The moon is just a little sliver of light off to our right a little, accompanied by a very bright planet below it. Orion is at about your 10 o'clock, just above the horizon. Cassiopeia is near your 3 o'clock. The Big and Little Dippers are directly above us, and one of them is spilling all of its soup…" Here Auggie chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and laying them both down next to each other. Annie snuggled into his embrace, placed her head on his shoulder and her arm across his chest, then asked, "Do you believe in wishing on stars, Auggie?"

"Yes, of course. I always used to do it as a kid growing up. 'Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight'. Right?"

"Yeah, that's the rhyme all right. Did any of your wishes ever come true?" She pondered, shivering as she gazed up through the canopy of darkness to the twinkling lights up above.

"Yup," Auggie replied, pulling her closer to him in an attempt to keep her warm in the chilly air.

"Really?" Annie sat up and stared at him laying on the deck beside her. "Which one?"

"Well, a while ago when I was going for a night walk in the park, I accidentally overheard someone say something about a shooting star, so I made a wish on it, and it came true a few months later," Auggie said.

"What did you wish for?" Annie questioned, puzzled by his answer.

Auggie slowly sat up and turned his head to where he thought she was, and replied, "You, Annie. I wished for you. I wished for you to mine, and me to be yours, forever and always. And here we are today, content with our perfect life." He reached out with his hand and found her cheek, wiping away the tears that he somehow just knew he would find there.

"Annie,"

"No, Auggie. They are happy tears. I didn't know that you cared for me that much, and for that long. Thank you for telling me." Annie said, he voice quavering a little from unshed tears.

"You're welcome, honey. Now, perhaps we should go inside and get some sleep, seeing as it is…" Here he touched the little button on the face of his watch and it said for him in a tinny little voice, **"2:11AM."**

"Oh! I didn't know it was that late! I'm sorry for keeping you up with my ceaseless questions and…" She would have gone on for several more minutes if Auggie hadn't stopped her with a finger over her mouth.

"No need to apologize, Annie. You know I'm always happy to answer your questions, even if they are ceaseless," He said, smirking.

"Well then, Mr. Cheeky, would you care to escort my lovely self back up to bed?" Annie replied, smiling prettily.

"Why of course, my dear. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to escort my beautiful wife back to bed," Auggie responded, taking her arm with an enormous grin on his handsome face.

Arm in arm, the couple walked back inside their small home, completely content and at ease with their perfect life together. Serious questions and happy tears forgotten, Annie and Auggie Anderson fell asleep in each other's arms. Just before she slipped into the realm of dreams, Annie felt Auggie kiss her forehead, and whisper in her ear, "Sleep well. I love you, my little stargazer."

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As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my work, so hit that little button down there that says "Review this Chapter" and make me a very happy girl! =]


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